The Youth Specialties blog had a fascinating post recently about what to do when one of the kids in your youth group gets pregnant. I have to admit that the post illuminated an entirely new aspect of youth ministry to me. I’d never really thought about the impact that one student’s situation could have on the entire group:

A teenage pregnancy doesn’t reflect the state of a teenager’s spirituality. Faithful, Jesus-following teenagers can still make choices that result in this decision. Kids that come to youth group every week may not have any faith commitment at all, and it’s often a revelation and reminder to parents, pastors, leaders and other students alike, that simply being part of a youth ministry isn’t always a measure of student’s behavior, beliefs or values. Throughout adolescence, it’s not uncommon for choices around faith and sexuality to be completely compartmentalized for teenagers and, depending on their cognitive awareness, they may not see any disconnect at all.

Tip: We might see a correlation between a teenager’s faith journey and their choices and behavior. Realistically, often the choices that lead to teenage pregnancy are made without much forethought. In turn, we need to be realistic in our expectations of students being able to process their decisions.

Were you ever in a youth group with a teenage mother? Were you ever a teenage mother in a youth group? How would you handle the situation if you were a youth leader?

With Thanksgiving (in the U.S., at least) coming up tomorrow, it seems appropriate to review some of the best Thanksgiving articles from the Gospel.com community. Each of these probably merits its own post, but in the interest of conciseness, here are the best ones I’ve come across this week:

Not feeling especially thankful this holiday? Do you lack the family and blessings for which we traditionally give thanks on Thanksgiving? Joe Stowell challenges us discover the joy of thankfulness despite our circumstances.

On the Revive Our Hearts program, Nancy Leigh DeMoss interviews Leslie Basham about why Thanksgiving is so important and inspiring. Don’t let Thanksgiving slip past because you’re so focused on the approaching Christmas madness! (See previous Revive Our Hearts programs on the same topic.)

Dick Innes encourage us to ask God to give you a thankful heart this holiday season. Elsewhere on the ACTS International site is a good essay on the power of giving thanks.

Take a few minutes today to check out these Thanksgiving articles, especially if you’re not feeling particularly in a “thanksgiving mood.” Giving thanks is an important and deeply rewarding element of the Christian faith, and now’s the perfect time to learn more about cultivating a thankful heart.

Is it a always a sin to lie? Is there ever a time when it’s OK to commit a “lesser” sin—perhaps to avoid what you perceive as a much more serious sin?

I think most Christians would answer No to that question. Sin is sin, whether it’s a “big” sin or a “little” sin, right? And even if hypothetical circumstances were to force us to choose a “lesser evil,” it remains a sin and something we should repent of, right?

But does your answer hold if we apply it to one of the most difficult ethical questions imaginable: would it have been ethical for a Christian to lie to the Nazis in order to protect Jews that were being hidden?

Bodie Hodge of the Answers in Genesis ministry tackled that question recently, and you have to give AiG credit for working through what is guaranteed to be a controversial ethical dilemma. But the Christian ethical system should be strong enough to be applied to any situation, and here’s AiG’s attempt to apply it to this question:

Let’s consider again the Nazi-Holocaust situation: there seems to be a conflict in the situation to lie before God to try to save someone else’s life. The result is often called the “greater good” or “lesser of two evils.” [...]

Jesus tells us that all the commandments can be summed up into these two statements [Mark 12:28-31]. But of these two, the first is to love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. So, this would trump the second. Our actions toward God should trump our actions toward men.

If we love God, we should obey Him (John 14:15). To love God first means to obey Him first—before looking at our neighbor. So, is the greater good trusting God when He says not to lie or trusting in our fallible, sinful minds about the uncertain future?

Consider this carefully. In the situation of a Nazi beating on the door, we have assumed a lie would save a life, but really we don’t know. So, one would be opting to lie and disobey God without the certainty of saving a life—keeping in mind that all are ultimately condemned to die physically. Besides, whether one lied or not may not have stopped the Nazi solders from searching the house anyway.

There’s much more to their answer than just what I’ve excerpted above, so read the full answer at Answers in Genesis. AiG is taking a beating in the blogosphere for their answer, but I think it’s never a bad thing to think through even a controversial question like this as logically as possible.

Answers in Genesis’ essay seems to boil down to this: since we never know with absolute certainty how the future will play out, it is not our place to judge that one of God’s commands (”Don’t bear false witness,” in this case) is less important than another. And secondly, if we are forced to choose, we must give priority to God’s command to serve Him above all else.

I’d like to hear your reaction to this answer, and how you personally would answer this question. But here’s a few follow-up questions to consider while you think it through:

Do you agree that Mark 12:28-31 establishes a hierarchy between the two “greatest commandments”?

Can you think of any examples in Scripture where somebody committed a sin “for the greater good,” and God indicated His approval?

I am guessing that most of us (well, speaking for myself, at least) instinctively feel that lying would be acceptable in this scenario. Is AiG’s answer missing the spirit of God’s commandments, or are we failing to think biblically enough when presented with this dilemma?

What do you think?